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NEW   YORK   STATE  DEPARTMENT   OF  LABOR 
Bureau  of  statistics  and  Information 


THE 


Workmen's  Compensation    Law 


OF 


NEW   YORK  STATE 


1913 


PRINTED  IN  ADVANCE  FROM  THE  THIRTEENTH  ANNUAL 
REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  LABOR 


JAMES  M.  LYNCH 

COMMISSIONER 


ALBANY 

J.  B.  LYON  COMPANY.  PRINTERS 

1913 


NEW  YORK  STATE  DEPARTMENT  OF  LABOR 

Bureau  of  statistics  and  Information 


THE 


Workmen's   C^ompensation    Law 


OF 


NEW   YORK   STATE 


1913 


PRINTED  IN  ADVANCE  FROM  THE  THIRTEENTH  ANNUAL 
REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  LABOR 


JAMES  M.   LYNCH 

COMMISSIONER 


ALBANY 

J.  B.  LYON  COMPANY.  PRINTERS 

191  3 


\b 


The  Workmen's  Compensation  Law  printed  herewith  was  passed  at  the 
extraordinary  session  in  December  after  the  Department's  general  compilation 
of  labor  laws  was  printed.  The  Compensation  Law  was  signed  by  the  Governor 
on  December  IG.  It  takes  effect  for  administrative  purposes  on  January  1, 
1914,  but  payment  of  compensation  under  it  goes  into  effect  on  July  1,  1914. 

This  Compensation  Law  repeals  Article  14-a  of  the  Labor  Law  which  was 
the  compensation  act  of  1910  afterwards  held  unconstitutional  by  the  Court  of 
Appeals   (see  p.  110*  of  the  general  compilation  of  labor  laws). 

[238] 


Workmen's  Compensatton  L^w.  *  239 


THE  WORKMEN'S  COMPENSATION  LAW. 

Chapter  816  of  the  Laws  of   1913,  Constituting  Chapter  Sixty-Seven 

OF  THE  Consolidated  Laws. 


WORKMEN'S  COMPENSATION  LAW. 

Article  1.  Short  title,  application,  definitions  (§§  1-3). 
2.  Compensation    t§§   10-34). 
:>.   Security   for  compensation    (§§   50-54). 

4.  State  workmen's  compensation  commission   (§§  60—76). 

5.  State  insurance  fund    (§§  00-105). 

6.  Miscellaneous  provisions   (§§  110-119). 

7.  Laws  repealed;  when  to  take  effect  (§§  130-131). 

ARTICLE    1. 
Sliort  Title;  Application;    Definitions. 

Section  1.   Short   title. 

2.  Application. 

3.  Definitions. 

§  1.  Short  title. —  This  chapter  shall  be  known  as  the  "Workmen's  Compen- 
sation Law."' 

§  2.  Application. —  Compensation  provided  for  in  this  chapter  shall  be  payable 
for  injuries  sustained  or  death  incurred  by  employees  engaged  in  the  following 
hazardous  employments: 

Group  1.  The  operation,  including  construction  and  repair,  of  railways 
operated  by  steam,  electric  or  other  motive  power,  street  railways,  and  incline 
railways,  but  not  their  construction  when  constructed  by  any  person  other 
than  the  company  which  owns  or  operates  the  railway,  including  work  of 
express,  sleeping,  parlor  and  dining  car  employees  on  railway  trains. 

Group  2.  Construction  and  operation  of  raihvajs  not  included  in  group  one. 

Group  3.  The  operation,  including  construction  and  repair,  of  car  shops, 
machine  shops,  steam  and  power  plants,  and  other  works  for  the  purposes  of 
any  such  railway,  or  used  or  to  be  used  in  connection  with  it  when  operated, 
constructed  or  repaired  by  the  company  which  owns  or  operates  the  railway. 

Group  4.  The  operation,  including  construction  and  repair,  of  car  shops, 
machine  shops,  steam  and  power  plants,  not  included  in  group  three. 

Group  5.  The  operation,  including  construction  and  repair,  of  telephone 
lines  and  wires  for  the  purposes  of  the  business  of  a  telephone  company,  or 
used  or  to  be  used  in  connection  with  its  business,  when  constructed  or 
operated  by  the  company. 

Group  6.  The  operation,  including  construction  and  repair,  of  telegraph  lines 
and  wires  for  the  purposes  of  the  business  of  a  telegrapii  company,  or  used  or 
to  be  used  in  connection  with  its  business,  when  constructed  or  operated  by 
the  company. 

Group  7.  Construction  of  telegrapii  and  telephone  lines  not  included  in 
groups  five  and  six. 


*^f\l^4  Cki^ 


240  *     Eepobt  of  ttie  Commiss.ioxer  of  Labor,  1913. 

Group  S.  The  operation,  within  or  without  the  state,  including  repair,  of 
vessels  other  than  vessels  of  other  states  or  countries  used  in  interstate  or 
foreign  commerce,  when  operated  or  repaired  hy  the  company. 

Group  9.  Shipbuilding,  including  construction  and  repair  in  a  ship-yard  or 
elsewhere,  not  included  in  group  eight. 

Group  10.  Longshore  work,  including  the  loading  or  unloading  of  cargoes 
or  parts  of  cargoes  of  grain,  coal,  ore,  freight,  general  merchandise,  lumber  or 
other  products  or  materials,  or  moving  or  handling  the  same  on  any  dock, 
platform  or  place,  or  in  any  warehouse  or  other  place  of  storage. 

Group  11.  Dredging,  subaqueous  or  caisson  construction,  and  pile  driving. 

Group  12.  Construction,  installation  or  operation  of  electric  light  and  elec- 
tric power  lines,  dynamos,  or  appliances,  and  power  transmission  lines. 

Group  1.3.  Paving;  sewer  and  subway  construction,  work  under  compressed 
air,  excavation,  tunneling  and  shaft  sinking,  well  digging,  laying  and  repair 
of  underground  pipes,  cable  and  wires,  not  included  in  other  groups. 

Group  14.  Lumbering;  logging,  river-driving,  rafting,  booming,  saw  mills, 
shingle  mills,  lath  mills;  manufacture  of  veneer  and  of  excelsior;  manufacture 
of  staves,  spokes,  or  headings. 

Group  15.  Pulp  and  paper  mills. 

Group  16.  Manufacture  of  furniture,  interior  woodwork,  organs,  pianos, 
piano  actions,  canoes,  small  boats,  coffins,  wicker  and  rattan  ware;  upholster- 
ing; manufacture  of  mattresses  or  bed  springs. 

Group  17.  Planing  mills,  sash  and  door  factories,  manufacture  of  wooden 
and  corrugated  paper  boxes,  cheese  boxes,  mouldings,  window  and  door  screens, 
■window  shades,  carpet  sweepers,  wooden  toys,  articles  and  wares  or  baskets. 

Group  18.  Mining;  reduction  of  ores  and  smelting;  preparation  of  metals 
or  minerals. 

Group  19.  Quarries;  sand,  shale,  clay  or  gravel  pits,  lime  kilns;  manu- 
facture of  brick,  tile,  terra-cotta,  fire-proofing,  or  paving  blocks,  manufacture 
of  calcium  carbide,  cement,  asphalt  or  paving  material. 

Group  20.  Manufacture  of  glass,  glass  products,  glassware,  porcelain  or 
pottery. 

Group  21.  Iron,  steel  or  metal  foundries;  rolling  mills;  manufacture  of 
castings,  forgings,  heavy  engines,  locomotives,  machinery,  safes,  anchors,  cables, 
rails,  shafting,  wires,  tubing,  pipes,  sheet  metal,  boilers,  furnaces,  stoves, 
structural  steel,  iron  or  metal. 

Group  22.  Operation  and  repair  of  stationary  engines  and  boilers,  not 
included  in  other  groups. 

Group  23.  Manufacture  of  small  castings  or  forgings,  metal  wares,  instru- 
ments, utensils  and  articles,  hardware,  nails,  wire  goods,  screens,  bolts,  metal 
beds,  sanitary,  Avater,  gas  or  electric  fixtures,  light  machines,  typewriters,  cash 
registers,  adding  machines,  carriage  mountings,  bicycles,  metal  toys,  tools, 
cutlery,  instruments,  photogr^iphic  cameras  and  supplies,  sheet  metal  products, 
buttons. 

Group  24.  Manufacture  of  agricultural  implements,  threshing  machines, 
traction  engines,  wagons,  carriages,  sleighs,  vehicles,  automobiles,  motor  trucks, 
toy  wagons,  sleighs  or  baby  carriages. 

Group  25.  Manufacture  of  explosives  and  dangerous  chemicals,  corrosive 
acids  or  salts,  ammonia,  gasoline,  petroleum,  petroleum  products,  celluloid, 
gas,  charcoal,  artificial  ice,  gun  powder  or  ammunition. 


Workmen's  Compensation  Law.  *  241 

Group  26.  Manufacture  of  paint,  color,  varnish,  oil,  japans,  turpentine, 
printing  ink,  printers'  rollers,  tar,  tarred,  pitched  or  asphalted  paper. 

Group  27.  Distilleries,  breweries;  manufacture  of  spirituous  or  malt  liquors, 
alcohol,  wine,  mineral  water   or   soda  waters. 

Group  28.  Manufacture  of  drugs  and  chemicals,  not  specified  in  group 
twenty-five,  medicines,  dyes,  extracts,  pharmaceutical  or  toilet  preparations, 
soaps,  candles,  perfumes,  non-corrosive  acids  or  chemical  preparations,  fer- 
tilizers, including  garbage  disposal  plants;  shoe  blacking  or  polish. 

Group  29.  Milling;  manufacture  of  cereals  or  cattle  foods,  warehousing; 
storage ;  operation  of  grain  elevators. 

Group  30.  Packing  bouses,  abattoirs,  manufacture  or  preparation  of  meats 
or  meat  products  or  glue. 

Group  31.  Tanneries. 

Group  32.  Manufacture  of  leather  goods  and  products,  belting,  saddlery, 
harness,  trunks,  valises,  boots,  shoes,  gloves,  umbrellas,  rubber  goods,  rubber 
shoes,   tubing,   tires   or   hose. 

Group  33.  Canning  or  preparation  of  fruit,  vegetables,  fish  or  food  stuflfs; 
pickle  factories  and  sugar  refineries. 

Group  34.  Bakeries,  including  manufacture  of  crackers  and  biscuits,  manu- 
facture of  confectionery,  spices  or  condiments. 

Group  35.  Manufacture  of  tobacco,  cigars,  cigarettes  or  tobacco  products. 

Group  36.  Manufacture  of  cordage,  ropes,  fibre,  brooms  or  brushes;  manilla 
or  hemp  products. 

Group  37.  Flax  mills;  manufacture  of  textiles  or  fabrics,  spinning,  weaving 
and  knitting  manufactories;  manufacture  of  yarn,  thread,  hosiery,  cloth, 
blankets,  carpets,  canvas,  bags,  shoddy  or  felt. 

Group  38.  Manufacture  of  men's  or  women's  clothing,  white  wear,  shirts, 
collars,  corsets,  hats,  caps,  furs  or  robes. 

Group  39.  Power   laundries;    dyeing,  cleaning  or  bleaching. 

Group  40.  Printing,  photo-engraving,  stereotyping,  electrotyping,  lithograph- 
ing, embossing;  manufacture  of  stationery,  paper,  cardboard  boxes,  bags,  or 
wall-paper;  and  book -binding. 

Group  41.  The  operation,  otherwise  than  on  tracks,  on  streets,  highways,  or 
elsewhere  of  cars,  trucks,  wagons  or  other  vehicles,  and  rollers  and  engines, 
propelled  by  steam,  gas,  gasoline,  electric,  mechanical  or  other  power  or 
drawn  by  horses  or  mules. 

Group  42.  Stone  cutting  or  dressing;  marble  works;  manufacture  of  arti- 
ficial stone;  steel  building  and  bridge  construction;  installation  of  elevators, 
fire  escapes,  boilers,  engines  or  heavy  machinery;  brick-laying,  tile-laying, 
mason  work,  stone-setting,  concrete  v/ork,  plastering;  and  manufacture  of 
concrete  blocks;  structural  carpentry;  painting,  decorating  or  renovating; 
sheet  metal  work;  roofing;  construction,  repair  and  demolition  of  buildings  and 
bridges;  plumbing,  sanitary  or  heating  engineering;  installation  and  covering 
of  pipes  or  boilers. 

§  3.  Definitions. —  As  used  in  this  chapter,  1.  "  Plazardous  employment" 
means  a  work  or  occupation  described  in  section  two  of  this  chapter. 

2.  "  Commission  "  means  the  state  workmen's  comjiensation  commission,  as 
constituted  by  this  chapter. 

3.  "  Employer,"  except  when  otherwise  expressly  stated,  means  a  person, 
partnership,    association,    corporation,    and    the    legal    representatives    of    a 


242  *     Eepoet  of  the  Commissionee  of  Labok,  1913. 

deceased  employer,  or  the  receiver  or  trustee  of  a  person,  partnership,  asso- 
ciation or  cori)oration,  employing  workmen  in  hazardous  employments;  but 
does  not  include  the  state  or  a  municipal  corporation  or  other  political  sub- 
division thereof. 

4.  "  limployee  "  means  a  person  w  ho  is  engaged  in  a  hazardous  employment 
in  the  service  of  an  employer  carrying  on  or  conducting  the  same  upon  the 
premises  or  at  the  plant,  or  in  the  course  of  his  employment  away  from  the 
plant  of  his  employer;  and  shall  not  include  farm  laborers  or  domestic 
servants. 

5.  "  Employment "  includes  employment  only  in  a  trade,  business  or  occupa- 
tion carried  on  by  the  employer  for  pecuniary  gain. 

6.  "  Compensation  "  means  the  money  allowance  payable  to  an  employee  or 
to  his  dependents  as  provided  for  in  this  chapter,  and  includes  funeral  benefits 
provided  therein. 

7.  "Injury"  and  "personal  injury"  mean  only  accidental  injuries  arising 
out  of  and  in  the  course  of  employment  and  such  disease  or  infection  as  may 
naturally  and  unavoidably  result  therefrom. 

8.  "  Death  "  wlien  mentioned  as  a  basis  for  the  right  to  compensation  means 
only  death  resulting  from  such  injury. 

9.  "Wages"  means  the  money  rate  at  which  the  service  rendered  is  recom- 
pensed under  the  contract  of  hiring  in  force  at  the  time  of  the  accident, 
including  the  reasonable  value  of  board,  rent,  housing,  lodging  or  similar 
advantage  received  from  the  employer. 

10.  "State  fund"  means  the  state  insurance  fund  provided  for  in  article 
five  of  this  chapter. 

11.  "Child"  shall  include  a  posthumous  child  and  a  child  legally  adopted 
prior  to  the  injury  of  the  employee. 

12.  "Insurance  carrier"  shall  include  the  state  fund,  stock  corporations  or 
mutual  associations  with  which  employers  have  insured,  and  employers  per- 
mitted to  pay  compensation  directly  under  the  provisions  of  subdivision  three 
of  section  fifty. 

ARTICLE    2. 
Compensation. 

Section  10.  Liability  for  compensation. 

11.  Alternative  remedy. 

12.  Compensation  not  allowed  for  first  two  weeks. 
1?..  Treatment  and  care  of  injured  emplojees. 

14.  Weekly  wages  basis  of  compensation, 

15.  Schedule  in  case  of  disability. 

16.  Death   benefits. 

17.  Aliens. 

IS.  Notice  of  injury. 

19.  Medical  examination. 

20.  Determination  of  claims  for  compensation. 

21.  Presumptions. 

22.  Modification  of  award. 

23.  Appeals  from  tlie  commission. 

24.  Costs  and   foes. 

23.  Compensation,  how  payable. 

26.  Enforcement  of  payment  in  default. 

27.  Depositing  future  payments. 

28.  Limitation  of  riglit  to  compensation. 


Workmen's  Compensation  Law.  *  243 

Section  29,  Subrogation  to  remedies  of  employee. 

30.  Revenues  or  benefits  from  other  sources  not  to  affect  compensation. 

31.  Agreement  for  contribution  by  employee  void. 

32.  Waiver  agreements  void. 

33.  .\ssignments  ;   exemptions. 

34.  Preferences. 

§  10.  Liability  for  compensation. —  Every  employer  subject  to  the  provisions 
of  this  chapter  shall  pay  or  provide  as  required  by  this  chapter  compensation 
according  to  the  schedules  of  this  article  for  the  disability  or  death  of  his 
employee  resulting  from  an  accidental  personal  injury  sustained  by  the 
employee  arising  out  of  and  in  the  course  of  his  employment,  without  regard 
to  fault  as  a  cause  of  such  injury,  except  where  the  injury  is  occasioned  by 
the  Avillful  intention  of  the  injured  employee  to  bring  about  the  injury  or 
death  of  himself  or  of  another,  or  where  the  injury  results  solely  from  the 
intoxication  of  the  injured  employee  while  on  duty.  Where  the  injury  is 
occasioned  by  the  willful  intention  of  the  injured  employee  to  bring  about  the 
injury  or  death  of  himself  or  of  another,  or  where  the  injury  results  solely 
from  the  intoxication  of  the  injured  employee  while  on  duty,  neitlier  the 
injured  employee  nor  any  dependent  of  such  employee  shall  receive  compensa- 
tion  under   this   chapter. 

§  11.  Alternative  remedy. —  The  liability  prescribed  by  the  last  preceding 
section  shall  be  exclusive,  except  that  if  an  employer  fail  to  secure  the  paj^- 
ment  of  compensation  for  his  injured  employees  and  their  dependents  as 
provided  in  section  fifty  of  this  chapter,  an  injured  employee,  or  his  legal 
representative  in  case  death  results  from  the  injury,  may,  at  his  option,  elect 
to  claim  compensation  under  this  chapter,  or  to  maintain  an  action  in  the 
courts  for  damages  on  account  of  such  injury;  and  in  such  an  action  the 
defendant  may  not  plead  as  a  defense  that  the  injury  was  caused  by  the 
negligence  of  a  fellow  servant  or  that  the  employee  assumed  the  risk  of  his 
employment,  or  that  the  injury  was  due  to  the  contributory  negligence  of  the 
employee. 

§  12.  Compensation  not  allowed  for  first  two  weeks. —  No  compensation 
shall  be  allowed  for  the  first  fourteen  days  of  disability,  except  the  benefits 
provided  for  in  section  thirteen  of  this  chapter. 

§  13.  Treatment  and  care  of  injured  employees. —  The  employer  shall 
promptly  provide  for  an  injured  employee  such  medical,  surgical  or  other 
attendance  or  treatment,  nurse  and  hospital  service,  medicines,  crutches  and 
apparatus  as  may  be  required  or  be  requested  by  the  employee,  during  sixty 
days  after  the  injury.  If  the  employer  fail  to  provide  the  same,  the  injured 
employee  may  do  so  at  the  expense  of  the  employer.  The  employee  shall  not 
be  entitled  to  recover  any  amount  expended  by  him  for  such  treatment  or 
services  unless  he  shall  have  requested  the  employer  to  furnish  the  same  and 
the  employer  shall  have  refused  or  neglected  to  do  so.  All  fees  and  other 
charges  for  such  treatment  and  services  shall  be  subject  to  regulation  by  the 
commission  as  provided  in  section  twenty -four  of  this  chapter,  and  shall  bo 
limited  to  such  charges  as  prevail  in  the  same  community  for  similar  treatmonrf; 
of  injured  persons  of  a  like  standard  of  living. 

§  14.  Weekly  wages  basis  of  compensation. —  Except  as  otherwise  provided 
in  this  chapter,  the  average  weekly  wages  of  the  injured  employee  at  the  time 


244*     Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Lvbor,  1913. 

of  tho  injury  shall  be  taken  as  tlie  basis  tipon  which  to  compute  compensation 
or  death  benefits,  and  shall  be  determined  as  follows: 

1.  If  the  injured  employee  shall  have  worked  in  the  employment  in  which  he 
was  working  at  the  time  of  the  accident,  whether  for  the  same  employer  or 
not,  during  substantially  the  whole  of  the  year  immediately  preceding  his 
injury,  his  average  annual  earnings  shall  consist  of  three  hundred  times  the 
average  daily  wage  or  salary  which  he  shall  have  earned  in  such  employment 
during  the  days  when  so  employed ; 

2.  If  the  injured  employee  shall  not  have  worked  in  such  employment  during 
substantially  the  whole  of  such  year,  his  average  annual  earnings  shall  consist 
of  three  hundred  times  the  average  daily  wage  or  salary  which  an  employee  of 
the  same  class  working  substantially  the  whole  of  such  immediately  preceding 
year  in  the  same  or  in  a  similar  employment  in  the  same  or  a  neighboring  place 
shall  have  earned  in  such  employment  during  the  days  when  so  employed; 

3.  If  either  of  the  foregoing  methods  of  arriving  at  the  annual  average  earn- 
ings of  an  injured  employee  cannot  reasonably  and  fairly  be  applied,  such 
annual  earnings  shall  be  such  sum  as,  having  regard  to  the  previous  earnings 
of  the  injured  employee  and  of  other  employees  of  the  same  or  most  similar 
class,  working  in  the  same  or  most  similar  employment  in  the  same  or  neighbor- 
ing locality,  shall  reasonably  represent  the  annual  earning  capacity  of  the 
injured  employee  in  the  employment  in  which  he  was  working  at  the  time  of 
the   accident; 

4.  The  average  weekly  wages  of  an  employee  shall  be  one-fifty-second  part  of 
bis  average  annual  earnings ; 

5.  If  it  be  established  that  the  injured  employee  was  a  minor  when  injured, 
and  that  under  normal  conditions  his  wages  w^ould  be  expected  to  increase,  the 
fact  may  be  considered  in  arriving  at  his  average  weekly  wages. 

%  15.  Schedule  in  case  of  disability. —  The  following  schedule  of  compensa- 
tion is  hereby  established: 

1.  Total  permanent  disability.  In  case  of  total  disability  adjudged  to  be 
permanent  sixty-six  and  two-thirds  per  centum  of  the  average  weekly  wages 
shall  be  paid  to  the  employee  during  the  continuance  of  such  total  disability. 
Loss  of  both  hands,  or  both  arms,  or  both  feet,  or  both  legs,  or  both  eyes,  or 
of  any  two  thereof  shall,  in  the  absence  of  conclusive  proof  to  the  contrary, 
constitute  permanent  total  disability.  In  all  other  cases  permanent  total  dis- 
ability shall  be  determined  in  accordance  with  the  facts. 

2.  Temporary  total  disability.  In  case  of  temporary  total  disability,  sixty- 
six  and  two-thirds  per  centum  of  the  average  weekly  wages  shall  be  paid  to 
the  employee  during  the  continuance  thereof,  but  not  in  excess  of  three  thou- 
sand five  hundred  dollars,  except  as  otherwise  provided  in  this  chapter. 

3.  Permanent  partial  disability.  In  case  of  disability  partial  in  character 
but  permanent  in  quality  the  compensation  shall  be  sixty-six  and  two-thirds 
per  centum  of  the  average  weekly  wages  and  shall  bo  paid  to  the  employee  for 
the  period  named  in  the  schedule  as  follows: 

Thumb.     For  the  loss  of  a  thumb,  sixty  weeks. 

First  finger.  For  the  loss  of  a  first  finger,  commonly  called  index  finger, 
forty-six  weeks. 

Second  finger.     For  the  loss  of  a  second  finger,  thirty  weeks. 
Third  finger.     For  the  loss  of  a  third  finger,  tw^enty-five  weeks. 


Woiikmen's  Compensation  Law.  *  245 

Fourth  finger.  For  the  loss  of  a  fourth  finger,  commonly  called  the  little 
finger,  fifteen  weeks. 

Phalange  of  thumb  or  finger.  The  loss  of  the  first  phalange  of  the  thumb 
or  finger  shall  be  considered  to  be  equal  to  the  loss  of  one-half  of  such  thumb 
or  finger,  and  compensation  shall  be  one-half  of  the  amount  above  specified. 
The  loss  of  more  than  one  phalange  shall  be  considered  as  the  loss  of  the 
entire  thumb  or  finger;  provided,  however,  that  in  no  case  shall  the  amount 
received  for  more  than  one  finger  exceed  the  amount  provided  in  this  schedule 
for  the  loss  of  a  hand. 

Great  toe.     For  the  loss  of  a  great  toe,  thirty-eight  weeks. 

Other  toes.  For  the  loss  of  one  of  the  toes  other  than  the  great  toe,  sixteen 
weeks. 

Phalange  of  toe.  The  loss  of  the  first  phalange  of  any  toe  shall  be  con- 
sidered to  be  equal  to  the  loss  of  one-half  of  said  toe,  and  the  compensation 
shall  be  one-half  of  the  amount  specified.  The  loss  of  more  than  one  phalange 
shall  be  considered  as  the  loss  of  the  entire  toe. 

Hand.     The  loss  of  a  hand,  two  hundred  and  forty-four  weeks. 

Arm.     For  the  loss  of  an  arm,  three  hundred  and  twelve  weeks. 

Foot.     For  the  loss  of  a  foot,  two  hundred  and  five  weeks. 

Leg.     For  the  loss  of  a  leg,  two  hundred  and  eighty-eight  weeks. 

Eye.     For  the  loss  of  an  eye,  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight  weeks. 

Loss  of  use.  Permanent  loss  of  the  use  of  a  hand,  arm,  foot,  leg  or  eye 
shall  be  considered  as  the  equivalent  of  the  loss  of  such  hand,  arm,  foot,  leg 
or  eye. 

Amputations.  Amputation  between  the  elbow  and  the  wrist  shall  be  con- 
sidered as  the  equivalent  of  the  loss  of  a  hand.  Amputation  between  the  knee 
and  the  ankle  shall  be  considered  as  the  equivalent  of  the  loss  of  a  foot. 
Amputation  at  or  above  the  elbow  shall  be  considered  as  the  loss  of  an  arm. 
Amputation  at  or  above  the  knee  shall  be  considered  as  the  loss  of  the  leg. 

The  compensation  for  the  foregoing  specific  injuries  shall  be  in  lieu  of  all 
other  compensation,  except  the  benefits  provided  in  section  thirteen  of  this 
chapter. 

Other  cases.  In  all  other  cases  in  this  class  of  disability,  the  compensation 
shall  be  sixty-six  and  two-thirds  per  centum  of  the  difference  between  his 
average  weekly  wages  and  his  v\'age-earning  capacity  thereafter  in  the  same 
employment  or  otherwise,  payable  during  the  continuance  of  such  partial 
disability,  but  subject  to  reconsideration  of  the  degree  of  such  impairment 
by  the  commission  on  its  own  motion  or  upon  application  of  any  party  in 
interest. 

4.  Temporary  partial  disability.  In  case  of  temporary  partial  disability, 
except  the  particular  cases  mentioned  in  subdivision  three  of  this  section,  an 
injured  employee  shall  receive  sixty-six  and  two-thirds  per  centum  of  the 
difference  between  his  average  weekly  wages  and  his  wage  earning  capacity 
thereafter  in  the  same  employment  or  otherwise  during  the  continuance  of 
such  partial  disability,  but  not  in  excess  of  three  thousand  five  hundred 
dollars,  except  as  otherwise  provided  in  this  chapter. 

5.  Limitation.  The  compensation  payment  under  subdivisions  onc^wo  and 
four  and  under  subdivision  three  except  in  case  of  tlie  loss  of  a  hand,  arm, 
foot,  leg  or   eye,  shall  not  exceed  fifteen  dollars  per  week  nor  be  less  than 


246  *     Report  of  tjie  Commissioner  of  Labor,  1913. 

five  dollars  per  week;  the  compensation  payment  under  subdivision  three  in 
case  of  the  loss  of  a  hand,  arm,  foot,  leg  or  eye,  shall  not  exceed  twenty 
dollars  per  week  nor  be  less  than  five  dollars  a  week;  provided,  however,  that 
if  tlie  employee's  wages  at  the  time  of  injury  are  less  than  five  dollars  per 
week  he  shall  receive  bis  full  weekly  wages. 

6.  Previous  disability.  The  fact  that  an  employee  has  suflfered  previous 
disability  or  received  compensation  therefor  shall  not  preclude  him  from 
compensation  for  a  later  injury  nor  preclude  compensation  for  death  resulting 
therefrom;  but  in  determining  compensation  for  the  later  injury  or  death 
his  average  weekly  wages  shall  be  such  sum  as  will  reasonably  represent  his 
earning  capacity  at  the  time  of  the  later  injury. 

§  IG.  Death  benefits. —  If  the  injury  causes  death,  the  compensation  shall 
be  known  as  a  death  benefit  and  shall  be  payable  in  the  amount  and  to  or 
for  the  benefit  of  the  persons  following: 

1.  Reasonable  funeral  expenses,  not  exceeding  one  hundred  dollars; 

2.  If  there  be  a  surviving  wife  (or  dependent  husband)  and  no  child  of  the 
deceased  under  the  age  of  eighteen  years,  to  such  wife  (or  dependent  hus- 
band) thirty  per  centum  of  the  average  wages  of  the  deceased  during  widow- 
hood (or  dependent  widowerhood)  with  two  years'  compensation  in  one 
sum,  upon  remarriage;  and  if  there  be  surviving  child  or  children  of  the 
deceased  under  the  age  of  eighteen  years,  the  additional  amount  of  ten  per 
centum  of  such  wages  for  each  such  child  until  of  the  age  of  eighteen  years, 
provided  that  the  total  amount  payable  shall  in  no  case  exceed  sixty-six  and 
two-thirds  per  centum  of  such  wages. 

3.  If  there  be  surviving  child  or  children  of  the  deceased  under  the  age 
of  eighteen  years,  but  no  surviving  wife  (or  dependent  husband)  then  for 
the  support  of  each  such  child  until  of  the  age  of  eighteen  years,  fifteen  per 
centum  of  the  wages  of  the  deceased,  provided  that  the  aggregate  shall  in  no 
case  exceed  sixty-six  and  two-thirds  per  centum  of  such  wages. 

4.  If  the  amount  payable  to  surviving  wife  (or  dependent  husband)  and  to 
children  under  the  age  of  eighteen  years  shall  be  less  in  the  aggregate  than 
sixty-six  and  two-thirds  per  centum  of  the  average  wages  of  the  deceased, 
then  for  the  support  of  grandchildren  or  brothers  and  sisters  under  the  age 
of  eighteen  years,  if  dependent  upon  the  deceased  at  the  time  of  the  accident, 
fifteen  per  centum  of  such  wages  for  the  support  of  each  such  person  until  of 
the  age  of  eighteen  years;  and  for  the  support  of  each  parent,  or  grand- 
parent, of  the  deceased  if  dependent  upon  him  at  the  time  of  the  accident, 
fifteen  per  centum  of  such  wages  during  such  dependency.  But  in  no  case 
shall  the  aggregate  amount  payal)le  under  this  subdivision  exceed  the  diff"er- 
ence  between  sixty-six  and  two-thirds  per  centum  of  such  wages,  and  the 
amount  payable  as  hereinbefore  provided  to  surviving  wife  (or  dependent 
husband)  or  for  the  support  of  surviving  child  or  children. 

Any  excess  of  wages  over  one  hundred  dollars  a  month  shall  not  be  taken 
into  account  in  computing  compensation  under  this  section.  All  questions 
of  dependency  shall  be  determined  as  of  the  time  of  the  accident. 

§  17.  Aliens. —  Compensation  under  this  chapter  to  aliens  not  residents 
(or  about  to  become  nonresidents)  of  the  United  States  or  Canada,  shall  be 
the  same  in  amount  as  provided  for  residents,  except  that  the  commission  may, 
at  its  option,  or,  upon  the  application  of  the  insurance  carrier,  shall,  com- 


Workmen's  Compensation  Law.  *  247 

mute  all  future  installments  of  compensation  to  be  paid  to  such  aliens,  by 
paying  or  causing  to  be  paid  to  them  one-half  of  the  commuted  amount  of 
such  future  installments  of  compensation  as  determined  by  the  cominission. 

§  18.  Notice  of  injury. —  Notice  of  an  injury  for  which  compensation  is 
payable  under  this  chapter  shall  be  given  to  the  commission  and  to  the 
employer  within  ten  days  after  disability,  and  also  in  case  of  the  death  of 
the  employee  resulting  from  such  injury,  within  thirty  days  after  such  death. 
Such  notice  may  be  given  by  any  person  claiming  to  be  entitled  to  compen- 
sation, or  by  some  one  in  his  behalf.  The  notice  shall  be  in  writing,  and 
contain  the  name  and  address  of  the  employee,  and  state  in  ordinary  language 
the  time,  place,  nature  and  cause  of  the  injury,  and  be  signed  by  him  or  by 
a  person  on  his  behalf  or,  in  case  of  death,  by  any  one  or  more  of  his  depend- 
ents, or  by  a  person  on  their  behalf.  It  shall  be  given  to  the  commission 
by  sending  it  by  mail,  by  registered  letter,  addressed  to  the  commission  at 
its  office.  It  shall  be  given  to  the  employer  by  delivering  it  to  him  or  sending 
it  by  mail,  by  registered  letter,  addressed  to  the  employer  at  his  or  its  last 
known  place  of  residence;  provided  that,  if  the  employer  be  a  partnership 
then  such  notice  may  be  so  given  to  any  one  of  the  partners,  and  if  the 
employer  be  a  corporation,  then  such  notice  may  be  given  to  any  agent  or 
officer  thereof  ujjon  whom  legal  process  may  be  served,  or  any  agent  in  charge 
of  the  business  in  the  place  where  the  injury  occurred.  The  failure  to  give 
such  notice,  unless  excused  by  the  commission  either  on  the  ground  that 
notice  for  some  sufficient  reason  could  not  have  been  given,  or  on  the  ground 
that  the  state  fund,  insurance  company,  or  employer,  as  the  case  may  be,  Jias 
not  been  prejudiced  thereby,  shall  be  a  bar  to  any  claim  tinder  this  chapter. 

§  19.  Medical  examination. —  An  employee  injured  claiming  or  entitled  to 
compensation  under  this  chapter  shall,  if  requested  by  the  commission,  sub- 
mit himself  for  medical  exfimination  at  a  time,  and  from  time  to  time,  at  a 
place  reasonably  convenient  for  the  employee,  and  as  may  be  provided  by  the 
rules  of  the  commission.  If  the  employee  or  the  insurance  carrier  requej^t 
he  shall  be  entitled  to  have  a  physician  or  physicians  of  his  own  selection  to 
be  paid  by  him  present  to  participate  in  such  examination.  If  an  employee 
refuse  to  submit  himself  to  examination,  his  right  to  prosecute  any  proceeding 
under  this  chapter  shall  be  suspended,  and  no  compensation  shall  be  payable, 
for  the  period  of  such  refusal, 

§  20.  Determination  of  claims  for  compensation.— At  any  time  after  the 
expiration  of  the  first  fourteen  days  of  disability  on  the  part  of  an  injured 
employee,  or  at  any  time  after  his  death,  a  claim  for  compensation  may  be 
presented  to  the  commission.  The  commission  shall  have  full  power  and 
authority  to  determine  all  questions  in  relation  to  the  payment  of  claims  for 
compensation  under  the  provisions  of  this  chapter.  The  commission  shall 
make  or  cause  to  be  made  such  investigation  as  it  deems  necessary,  and  upon 
application  of  either  party,  shall  order  a  hearing,  and  within  thirty  days 
after  a  claim  for  compensation  is  submitted  under  this  section,  or  such 
hearing  closed,  shall  make  or  deny  an  award,  determining  such  claim  for 
compensation,  and  file  the  same  in  the  office  of  the  commission,  together  with 
a  statement  of  its  conclusions  of  fact  and  rulings  of  law.  The  commission 
may,  before  making  an  award,  require  the  claimant  to  appear  before  an  arbi- 
tration committee  appointed  by  it  and  consisting  of  one  representative  of 
emplojees,    one    representative    of    employers,    and   either    a    member    of   the 


248  *      Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Labor,  1913. 

commission  or  a  person  specially  deputized  by  tlie  commission  to  act  as 
chairman,  before  which  the  evidence  in  regard  to  the  claim  shall  be  adduced 
and  by  which  it  shall  be  considered  and  reported  upon.  Immediately  after 
such  filing  the  commission  shall  send  to  the  parties  a  copy  of  the  decision. 
Upon  a  hearing  pursuant  to  this  section  either  party  may  present  evidence 
and  be  represented  by  counsel.  The  decision  of  the  comniission  sliall  be  final 
as  to  all  questions  of  fact,  and,  except  as  provided  in  section  twenty-three, 
as  to  all  questions  of  law. 

§  21.  Presumptions. —  Tn  any  proceeding  for  the  enforcement  of  a  claim 
for  compensation  under  this  chapter,  it  shall  be  presumed  in  the  absence  of 
substantial  evidence  to  the  contrary 

1.  That  the  claim  comes  within  the  provisions  of  this  chapter; 

2,  That  sufficient  notice  thereof  was  given; 

■  3.  That  the  injury  was  not  occasioned  by  the  willful  intention  of  the 
injured  employee  to  bring  about  the  injury  or  death  of  himself  or  of  another; 

4.  That  the  injury  did  not  result  solely  from  the  intoxication  of  the  injured 
employee  while  on  duty. 

§  22.  Modification  of  award. — •  Upon  its  own  motion  or  upon  the  application 
of  any  party  in  interest,  on  the  ground  of  a  change  in  conditions,  the  com- 
mission may  at  any  time  review  any  award,  and,  on  such  review,  may  make 
an  award  ending,  diminishing  or  increasing  the  compensation  previously 
awarded,  subject  to  the  maximum  or  minimum  provided  in  this  chapter,  and 
shall  state  its  conclusions  of  fact  and  rulings  of  law,  and  shall  immediately 
send  to  the  parties  a  copy  of  the  award.  No  such  review  shall  affect  such- 
award  as  regards  any  moneys  already  paid. 

§  23.  Appeals  from  the  conimission. —  An  award  or  decision  of  the  com- 
mission shall  be  final  and  conclusive  upon  all  questions  within  its  jurisdic- 
•tion,  as  against  the  state  fund  or  between  the  parties,  unless  within  thirty 
days  after  a  copy  of  such  award  or  decision  has  been  sent  to  the  parties,  an 
appeal  be  taken  to  the  appellate  division  of  the  supreme  court  of  the  third 
department.  The  commission  may  also,  in  its  discretion,  where  the  claim 
for  compensation  was  not  made  against  the  state  fund,  on  the  application  of 
either  party,  certify  to  such  appellate  division  of  the  supreme  court,  questions 
of  law  involved  in  its  decision.  Such  appeals  and  the  questions  so  certified 
shall  be  heard  in  a  summary  manner  and  shall  have  precedence  over  all  other 
civil  cases  in  such  court.  The  commission  shall  be  deemed  a  party  to  every 
such  appeal,  and  the  attorney-general,  without  extra  compensation,  shall  repre- 
sent the  commission  thereon.  An  appeal  may  also  be  taken  to  the  court  of 
appeals  in  all  eases  where  such  an  appeal  would  lie  from  a  decision  of  an 
appellate  division,  in  the  same  manner  and  snbject  to  the  same  limitations 
as  is  now  provided  in  civil  actions,  Otherwise  such  appeals  shall  be  subject 
to  the  law  and  practice  applicable  to  appeals  in  civil  actions.  Upon  the 
final  determination  of  such  an  appeal,  thd  commission  shall  make  an  award 
or  decision  in  accordance  therewith. 

§  24.  Costs  and  fees. —  If  the  commission  or  the  court  before  which  any 
proceedings  for  compensation  or  concerning  an  award  of  compensation  have 
been  brought,  under  this  chapter,  determines  that  such  proceedings  have  not 
been  so  brought  upon  reasonable  ground,  it  shall  assess  the  whole  cost  of  the 
proceeding  upon  the  i)arty  who  has  so  brought  them.  Claims  for  legal 
services  in  connection  with  any  claim  arising  under  this  chapter,  and  claims 


Workmen's  Compensation  Law.  *  249 

for  services  or  treatment  rendered  or  supplies  furnished  pursuant  to  section 
thirteen  of  this  chapter,  shall  not  be  enforceable  unless  approved  by  the 
commission.  If  so  approved,  such  claim  or  claims  shall  become  a  lien  upon 
the  compensation  awarded,  but  shall  be  paid  therefrom  only  in  the  manner 
fixed  by  the  commission, 

g  25.  Compensalion,  how  payable. —  Compensation  under  the  provisions  of 
this  chapter  shall  be  payable  periodically,  in  accordance  with  tlie  method  of 
payment  of  the  wages  of  the  employee  at  tlie  time  of  liis  injury  or  death,  and 
shall  be  so  provided  for  in  any  award;  but  tlie  commission  may  determine 
that  all  payments  or  payments  as  to  any  particular  group  may  be  made 
monthly  or  at  any  other  period,  as  it  may  deem  advisable.  The  commission, 
whenever  it  shall  so  deem  advisable,  may  commute  such  periodical  payments 
to  one  or  more  lump  sum  payments,  provided  the  same  shall  be  in  the  interest 
of  justice.  If  the  award  requires  payment  of  compensation  otherwise  than 
from  the  state  fund  all  payments  as  required  by  the  award  shall  be  made 
directly  to  the  commission  or  to  a  deputy  specially  authorized  to  receive 
the  same,  and  disbursed  in  accordance  with  its  award  to  the  persons  entitled 
thereto.  And  employers  and  insurance  companies  shall  for  such  purpose 
be  permitted,  or  when  necessary  to  protect  the  interest  of  the  beneficiary  may 
be  required,  to  make  deposit^  to  secure  the  prompt  and  convenient  payment  of 
such   compensation. 

§  26.  Enforcement  of  payment  in  default.— If  payment  of  compensation,  or 
an  installment  thereof,  due  under  the  terms  of  an  award,  be  not  made  within 
ten  days  after  the  same  is  due.  By  the  employer  or  insurance  corporation 
liable  therefor,  the  amount  of  such  payment  shall  constitute  a  liquidated 
claim  for  damages  against  such  employer  or  insurance  corporation,  which 
with  an  added  penalty  of  fifty  per  centum  may  be  recovered  in  an  action  to 
be  instituted  by  the  commission  in  the  name  of  the  people  of  the  state.  If 
such  default  be  made  in  the  payment  of  an  installment  of  compensation  and 
the  whole  amount  of  such  compensation  be  not  due,  the  commission  may,  if 
the  present  value  of  such  compensation  be  computable,  declare  the  whole 
amount  thereof  duo,  and  recover  the  amount  thereof  with  the  added  penalty 
of  fifty  per  centum,  as  provided  by  this  section.  Any  such  action  may  be 
compromised  by  the  commission  or  may  be  prosecuted  to  final  judgment  as, 
in  the  discretion  of  the  commission,  may  best  serve  the  interests  of  the 
persons  entitled  to  receive  the  compensation  or  the  benefits.  Compensation 
recovered  under  this  section  shall  be  disbursed  by  the  commission  to  the 
persons  entitled  thereto  in  accordance  with  the  award.  A  penalty  recovered 
pursuant  to  this  section  shall  be  paid  into  the  state  treasury,  and  be 
applicable  to  the  expenses  of  the  commission. 

§  27.  Depositing  future  payments. —  If  an  award  under  this  chapter  requires 
payment  of  compensation  by  an  employer  or  an  insurance  corporation  in  peri- 
odical payments,  and  the  nature  of  the  injury  makes  it  possible  to  compute 
the  present  value  of  all  future  payments  with  due  regard  for  life  contin- 
gencies, the  commission  may,  in  its  discretion,  at  any  time,  compute  and 
permit  or  require  to  be  paid  into  the  state  fund  an  amount  equal  to  the 
present  value  of  all  unpaid  compensation  for  which  liability  exists,  in  trust; 
and  thereu])on  such  employer  or  insurance  corporation  siiall  be  discharged 
from  any  further  liability  under  such  award  and  payment  of  the  same  shall 
be  assumed  by  the  state  fund. 


250  *      Eepokt  of  the  Commissioxek  of  Labok,  1913. 

§  28.  Limitation  of  right  to  compensation. —  The  right  to  claim  compensa- 
tion under  this  chapter  shall  be  forever  barred  unless  within  one  year  after 
tlie  injury,  or  if  deatli  result  therefrom,  within  one  year  after  such  death, 
a  claim  for  compensation  tlierciindcr  shall  be  filed  with  the  commission. 

§  21).  Subrogation  to  remedies  of  employee. —  If  a  workman  entitled  to 
compensation  under  this  chapter  be  injured  or  killed  by  the  negligence  or 
wrong  of  another  not  in  the  same  employ,  such  injured  workman,  or  in  case 
of  dcatl).  liis  dependents,  sliall,  before  any  suit  or  claim  under  this  chapter, 
elect  whether  to  take  compensation  under  this  chapter  or  to  pursue  his 
remedy  against  such  other.  Such  election  shall  be  evidenced  in  such  manner 
as  the  commission  may  by  rule  or  regulation  prescribe.  If  he  elect  to  take 
compensation  under  this  chapter,  the  cause  of  action  against  such  other  shall 
be  assigned  to  the  state  for  the  benefit  of  the  state  insurance  fund,  if  com- 
pensation be  payable  therefrom,  and  otherwise  to  the  person  or  association 
or  corporation  liable  for  the  payment  of  such  compensation,  and  if  he  elect 
to  proceed  against  such  other,  the  state  insurance  fund,  person  or  association 
or  corporation,  as  the  case  may  be,  shall  contribute  only  the  deficiency,  if 
any,  between  the  amount  of  the  recovery  against  such  other  person  actually 
collected,  and  the  compensation  provided  or  estimated  by  this  chapter  for  such 
case.  Such  a  cause  of  action  assigned  to  the  state  may  be  prosecuted  or 
compromised  by  the  commission.  A  compromise  of  any  such  cause  of  action 
by  the  workman  or  his  dependents  at  an  amount  less  than  the  compensation 
provided  for  by  this  chapter  shall  be  made  only  with  the  written  approval 
of  the  commission,  if  the  deficiency  of  compensation  would  be  payable  from 
the  state  insurance  fund,  and  otherwise  with  the  written  approval  of  the 
person,  association  or  corporation  liable  to  pay  the  same. 

§  30.  Revenues  or  benefits  from  other  sources  not  to  affect  compensation. — 
JS'o  benefits,  savings  or  insurance  of  the  injured  employee,  independent  of  the 
provisions  of  this  chapter,  shall  be  considered  in  determining  the  compensation 
or  benefits  to  be  paid  under  this  chapter. 

§  31.  Agreement  for  contribution  by  employee  void. —  Xo  agreement  by  an 
employee  to  pay  any  portion  of  the  premium  paid  by  his  employer  to  the  state 
insurance  fund  or  to  contribute  to  a  benefit  fund  or  department  maintained  by 
such  employer  or  to  the  cost  of  mutual  insurance  or  other  insurance,  main- 
tained for  or  carried  for  the  purpose  of  providing  compensation  as  herein 
required,  shall  be  valid,  and  any  employer  who  makes  a  deduction  for  such 
purpose  from  the  wages  or  salary  of  any  employee  entitled  to  the  benefits  of 
this  chapter  shall  be  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor. 

§  32.  Waiver  agreements  void. —  No  agreement  by  an  employee  to  waive  his 
right  to  compensation  under  tliis  chapter  shall  bo  valid. 

§  33.  Assignments;  exemptions. —  Claims  for  compensation  or  benefits  due 
under  this  chapter  shall  not  be  assigned,  released  or  commuted  except  as  pro- 
vided by  this  chapter,  and  shall  be  exempt  from  all  claims  of  creditors  and 
from  levy,  execution  and  attachment  or  other  remedy  for  recovery  or  collec- 
tion of  a  debt,  which  exemption  may  not  be  waived.  Compensation  and  bene- 
fits shall  be  paid  only  to  employees  or  their  dependents. 

§  34.  Preferences. —  The  right  of  compensation  granted  by  this  chapter  shall 
have  the  same  preference  or  lien  without  limit  of  amount  against  the  assets 
of  the  employer  as  is  now  or  hereafter  may  be  alloAved  by  law  for  a  claim  for 
unpaid  wages  for  labor. 


Workmen's  Compensation   Law.  *  251 


ARTICLE    3. 
Security   for   Comitensatiou. 

Sectioa  50.  Security  for  payment  of  compensation. 

51.  Posting  of  notice  rega«-cling  compensation. 

52.  Effect  of  failure  to  secure  compensation. 

53.  Release  from  all  liability. 

54.  Tt»e  insurance  lontract. 

§  50.  Security  for  payment  of  compensation. —  An  employer  shall  secure 
compensation  to  his  employees  in  one  of  the  following  ways : 

1.  By  insuring  and  keeping  insured  the  payment  of  such  »x)mpensation  in 
the  state  fund,  or 

2.  By  insuring  and  keeping  insured  the  payment  of  sueli  compensation  with 
any  stock  corporation  or  mutual  association  authorized  to  transact  the  busi- 
ness of  workmen's  compensation  insurance  in  this  state.  If  insurance  he  so 
effected  in  such  a  corporation  or  mutual  association  the  employer  shall  forth- 
with file  with  the  commission,  in  form  prescribed  by  it,  a  notice  specifying  the 
name  of  such  insurance  corporation  or  mutual  association  together  with  a  copy 
of  the  contract  or  policy  of  insurance. 

3.  By  furnishing  satisfactory  proof  to  the  commission  of  his  financial  ability 
to  pay  such  compensation  for  himself,  in  which  case  the  commission  may,  in 
its  discretion,  require  the  deposit  with  the  commission  of  securities  of  the  kind 
prescribed  in  section  thirteen  of  the  insurance  law,  in  an  amount  to  be  deter- 
mined by  the  commission,  to  secure  his  liability  to  pay  the  compensation  pro- 
vided in  this  chapter. 

If  an  employer  fail  to  comply  with  this  section,  he  shall  be  liable  to  a 
penalty  for  every  day  during  which  such  failure  continues  of  one  dollar  for 
every  employee,  to  be  recovered  in  an  action  brought  by  the  commission. 

The  commission  may,  in  its  discretion,  for  good  cause  shown,  remit  any 
such  penalty,  provided  the  employer  in  default  secure  compensation  as  pro- 
vided in  this  section. 

§  51.  Posting  of  notice  regarding  compensation. —  Every  employer  who  has 
complied  with  section  fifty  of  tliis  cliapter  shall  post  and  maintain  in  a  con- 
spicuous place  or  places  in  and  about  his  place  or  places  of  business  type- 
written or  printed  notices  in  form  prescribed  by  the  commission,  stating  the 
fact  that  he  has  complied  with  all  the  rules  and  regulations  of  the  commission 
and  that  he  has  secured  the  payment  of  compensation  to  his  employees  and 
their  dependents  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  tliis  cliapter. 

§  52.  Effect  of  failure  to  secure  compensation. —  Failure  to  secure  the  pay- 
ment of  compensation  shall  have  the  effect  of  enabling  the  injured  employee  or 
his  dependents  to  maintain  an  action  for  damages  in  the  courts,  as  prescribed 
by  section  eleven  of  tliis  chapter. 

§  53.  Release  from  all  liability. —  An  employer  securing  the  payment  of  com- 
pensation by  contributing  premiums  to  the  state  fund  shall  thereby  become 
relieved  from  all  liability  for  personal  injuries  or  death  sustained  by  his  em- 
ployees, and  the  persons  entitled  to  compensation  under  this  chapter  shall  have 
recourse  therefor  only  to  the  state  fund  and  not  to  the  employer.  An  em- 
IJloyer  shall  not  otherwise  be  relieved  from  the  liability  for  comi>ensation 
prescribed  by  this  chapter  except  by  the  payment  thereof  by  himself  or  his 
insurance  carrier. 


252  *     Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Labor,  1913. 


§  54.  The  insurance  contract. —  1.  Eight  of  recourse  to  the  insurance  carrier. 
Every  policy  of  insurance  covering  thu  liability  of  the  employer  for  compensa- 
tion issued  by  a  stock  company  or  by  a  mutual  association  authorized  to 
transact  workmen's  compensation  insurance  in  this  state  shall  contain  a  pro- 
vision setting  forth  the  right  of  the  commission  to  enforce  in  the  name  of  the 
people  of  the  state  of  New  York  for  the  benefit  of  the  person  entitled  to  the 
compensation  insured  by  the  policy  either  by  filing  a  separate  application  or 
by  making  the  insurance  carrier  a  party  to  the  original  application,  the 
liability  of  the  insurance  carrier  in  whole  or  in  part  for  the  payment  of  such 
compensation;  provided,  however,  that  payment  in  whole  or  in  part  of  such 
compensation  by  either  tlie  employer  or  the  insurance  carrier  sliall  to  the 
extent  thereof  be  a  bar  to  the  recovery  against  the  other  of  the  amount  so 
paid. 

2.  Knowledge  and  jurisdiction  of  the  employer  extended  to  cover  the  insur- 
ance carrier.  Every  such  policy  shall  contain  a  provision  that,  as  between 
the  employee  and  the  insurance  carrier,  the  notice  to  or  knowledge  of  the 
occurrence  of  the  injury  on  the  part  of  the  employer  shall  be  deemed  notice 
or  knowledge,  as  the  case  may  be,  on  the  part  of  the  insurance  carrier;  that 
jurisdiction  of  the  employer  shall,  for  the  purpose  of  this  chapter,  be  juris- 
diction of  the  insurance  carrier  and  that  the  insurance  carrier  shall  in  all 
things  be  bound  by  and  subject  to  the  orders,  findings,  decisions  or  awards 
rendered  against  the  employer  for  the  payment  of  compensation  under  the 
provisions  of  this  chapter. 

3.  Insolvency  of  employer  does  not  release  the  insurance  carrier.  Every 
such  policy  shall  contain  a  provision  to  the  efiect  that  the  insolvency  or  bank- 
ruptcy of  the  employer  shall  not  relieve  the  insurance  carrier  from  the  pay- 
ment of  compensation  for  injuries  or  death  sustained  by  an  employee  during 
the  life  of  such  policy. 

4.  Limitation  of  indemnity  agreements.  Every  contract  or  agreement  of  an 
employer  the  purpose  of  which  is  to  indemnify  him  from  loss  or  damage  on 
account  of  the  injury  of  an  employee  by  accidental  means,  or  on  account  of  the 
negligence  of  such  employer  or  his  officer,  agent  or  servant,  shall  be  abso- 
lutely void  unless  it  shall  also  cover  liability  for  the  payment  of  the  com- 
pensation provided  for  by  this  chapter. 

5.  Cancellation  of  insurance  contracts.  No  contract  of  insurance  issued  by  a 
stock  company  or  mutual  association  against  liability  arising  under  this  chapter 
shall  be  cancelled  within  the  time  limited  in  such  contract  for  its  expiration 
until  at  least  ten  days  after  notice  of  intention  to  cancel  such  contract,  on  a 
date  specified  in  such  notice,  shall  be  filed  in  the  office  of  the  commission  and 
also  served  on  the  employer.  Such  notice  shall  be  served  on  the  employer  by 
delivering  it  to  him  or  by  sending  it  by  mail,  by  registered  letter,  addressed 
to  the  employer  at  his  or  its  last  known  place  of  residence;  provided  that,  if 
the  employer  be  a  partnership,  then  such  notice  may  be  so  given  to  any  one 
of  the  partners,  and  if  the  employer  be  a  corporation,  then  the  notice  may  be 
given  to  any  agent  or  officer  of  the  corporation  upon  whom  legal  process  may 
be  served. 


Workmen's   Compensation   Law.  *  253 

ARTICLE    4. 

State  "^V^orkmen's  Compensation  Commission, 

Section  60.  State  workmen's  compensation  commission. 

61.  Secretary,  deputies  and  other  employees. 

62.  Salaries  and  expenses. 

63.  Office. 

64.  Sessions  of  commission. 

65.  Powers  of  individual  commissioners  and  deputy  commissioners. 

66.  Powers  and  duties  of  secretary. 

67.  Rules. 

68.  Technical  rules  of  evidence  or  procedure  not   required. 

69.  Issue  of  subpoena  ;  penalty  for  failure  to  obey. 

70.  Recalcitrant  witnesses  punishable  as  for  contempt. 

71.  Fees  and  mileage  of  witnesses. 

72.  Depositions. 

73.  Transcript  of  stenographer's  minutes ;  effect  as  evidence. 

74.  Jurisdiction  of  commission  to  be  continuing. 

75.  Report  of  commission. 

76.  Commission  to  furnish  blank  forms. 

§  60.  State  workmen's  compensation  commission. —  A  state  workmen's  com- 
pensation commission  is  hereby  created,  consisting  of  five  commissioners,  to 
be  appointed  by  the  governor,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the 
senate,  one  of  whom  shall  be  designated  by  the  governor  as  chairman.  The 
commissioner  of  labor  shall  also  be  an  ex  officio  member  of  the  commission 
but  shall  not  have  a  vote  on  orders,  decisions  or  awards.  Appointments  may 
be  made  during  the  recess  of  the  senate,  but  shall  be  subject  to  confirmation 
by  the  senate  at  the  next  ensuing  session  of  the  legislature.  The  term  of 
office  of  appointive  members  of  the  commission  shall  be  five  years,  except  that 
the  first  members  thereof  shall  be  appointed  for  such  terms  that  the  term  of 
one  member  shall  expire  on  January  first,  nineteen  hundred  and  sixteen,  and 
on  January  first  of  every  succeeding  year.  Successors  shall  be  appointed  in 
like  manner  for  a  full  term  of  five  years.  Vacancies  shall  be  filled  in  like 
manner  by  appointment  for  the  unexpired  term.  Each  appointive  member  of 
the  commission  shall  before  entering  upon  the  duties  of  his  office  execute  an 
official  undertaking  in  the  sum  of  fifty  thousand  dollars  to  be  approved  by  the 
comptroller  and  filed  in  his  office.  The  governor  may  remove  any  appointive 
commissioner  for  inefficiency,  neglect  of  duty  or  misconduct  in  office,  giving 
him  a  copy  of  the  charges  and  an  opportunity  of  being  publicly  heard  in 
person  or  by  counsel,  upon  not  less  than  ten  days'  notice.  If  such  a  commis- 
sioner be  removed,  the  governor  shall  file  in  the  office  of  the  secretary  of  state 
a  complete  statement  of  all  charges  made  against  him  and  a  complete  record 
of  his  proceedings  and  his  findings  thereon.  Each  appointive  commissioner 
shall  devote  his  entire  time  to  the  duties  of  his  office,  and  shall  not  hold  any 
position  of  trust  or  profit,  or  engage  in  any  occupation  or  business  interfering 
or  inconsistent  with  his  duties  as  such  commissioner,  or  serve  on  or  under 
finy  committee  of  a  political  party.  The  commission  shall  have  an  official 
seal  which  shall  be  judicially  noticed. 

§  61.  Secretary,  deputies  and  other  employees. —  The  commission  may  ap- 
point one  or  more  deputy  commissioners  and  a  secretary  to  hold  office  during 
its  pleasure.  It  maj'  also  employ,  during  its  pleasure,  an  actuary,  account- 
ants, medical  doctors,  clerks,  stenographers,  inspectors  and  other  employees 


254*     Keport  of  the  Commissioxer  of  Labor,  1913. 

as  may  ht'  lucdfcl  to  carry  out  the  provisions  of  this  chapter.  Tlic  authority, 
duties  and  compensation  of  all  suhordinates  and  employees,  except  as  pro- 
vided by  this  chapter,  shall  be  fixed  by  the  commission. 

§  62.  Salaries  and  expenses. —  The  chairman  of  the  commission  shall  receive 
an  annual  salary  of  ten  thousand  dollars,  and  each  otlur  conimissionor,  an 
annual  salary  of  seven  thousand  dollars.  The  secretary  shall  receive  an 
annual  salary  of  five  thousand  dollars.  The  commissioners  and  their  sub- 
ordinates shall  be  entitled  to  their  actual  and  nceossary  expenses  while  travel- 
in<r  on  the  business  of  the  commission.  The  commission  mav  also  make  the 
necessary  expenditure  to  obtain  statistical  and  other  information  to  establish 
classifications  of  employments  with  respect  to  hazards  and  risks.  The  salaries 
and  compensation  of  the  subordinates  and  all  other  expenses  of  the  commis- 
sion, including  the  premiums  to  be  paid  by  the  state  treasurer  for  the  bond 
to  be  furnished  by  him,  shall  be  paid  out  of  the  state  treasury  upon  vouchers 
signed  bv  at  least  two  commissioners. 

§  63.  Office. —  The  commission  shall  keep  and  maintain  its  principal  office 
in  the  city  of  Albany,  in  rooms  in  the  capitol  assigned  by  the  trustees  of 
public  buildings.  The  office  shall  be  supplied  with  necessary  office  furniture, 
supplies,  books,  maps,  stationery,  telephone  connections  and  other  necessary 
appliances,  at  the  expense  of  the  state,  payable  in  the  same  manner  as  other 
expenses  of  the  commission. 

§  64.  Sessions  of  commission. —  The  commission  shall  be  in  continuous 
session  and  open  for  the  transaction  of  business  during  all  business  hours  of 
every  day  excepting  Sundays  and  legal  holidays.  All  sessions  shall  be  open 
to  the  public  and  may  be  adjourned,  upon  entry  thereof  in  its  records,  with- 
out further  notice.  Whenever  convenience  of  parties  will  be  promoted  or  delay 
and  expense  prevented,  the  commission  may  hold  sessions  in  cities  other  than 
the  city  of  Albany.  A  party  may  appear  before  such  commission  and  be 
heard  in  person  or  by  attorney.  Every  vote  and  official  act  of  the  commission 
shall  be  entered  of  record,  and  the  records  shall  contain  a  record  of  each  case 
considered,  and  the  award,  decision  or  order  made  with  respect  thereto,  and  all 
voting  shall  be  by  the  calling  of  each  commissioner's  name  by  the  secretary 
and  each  vote  shall  be  recorded  as  cast.  A  majority  of  the  commission  shall 
constitute  a  quorum.  A  vacancy  shall  not  impair  the  right  of  the  remaining 
commissioners  to  exercise  all  the  powers  of  the  full  commission  so  long  as  a 
majority  remains. 

§  65.  Powers  of  individual  commissioners  and  deputy  commissioners. —  Any 
investigation,  inquiry  or  hearing  which  the  commission  is  authorized  to  hold 
or  undertake  may  be  held  or  taken  by  or  before  any  commissioner  or  deputy 
commissioner,  and  the  award,  decision  or  order  of  a  commissioner  or  deputy 
commissioner,  when  approved  and  confirmed, by  the  commission  and  ordered 
filed  in  its  office,  shall  be  deemed  to  be  the  award,  decision  or  order  of  the 
commission.  Each  commissioner  and  deputy  shall,  for  the  purposes  of  this 
cliapter,  have  power  to  administer  oatiis,  certify  to  official  acts,  take  deposi- 
tions, issue  subpoenas,  compel  the  attendance  of  witnesses  and  the  production 
of  books,  accounts,  papers,  records,  documents  and  testimony.  The  commission 
may  authorize  any  deputy  to  conduct  any  such  investigation,  inquiry  or  hear- 
ing, in  which  case  he  shall  have  the  power  of  a  commissioner  in  respect 
thereof. 


Woekmen's  Compensation  Law.  *  255 

§  66.  Powers  and  duties  of  secretary. —  The  secretary  of  the  commission 
shall: 

1.  Maintain  a  full  and  true  record  of  all  proceedings  of  the  commission,  of 
all  documents  or  papers  ordered  filed  by  the  commission,  of  decisions  or 
orders  made  by  a  commissioner  or  deputy  commissioner,  and  of  all  decisions 
or  orders  made  by  the  commission  or  approved  and  confirmed  by  it  and  ordered 
filed,  and  he  shall  be  responsible  to  the  commission  for  the  safe  custody  and 
preservation  of  all  such  documents  at  its  office; 

2.  Have  povi'er  to  administer  oaths  in  all  parts  of  the  state,  so  far  as  the 
exercise  of  such  power  is  properly  incident  to  the  performance  of  his  duty  or 
that  of  the  commission; 

3.  Designate,  from  time  to  time,  with  the  approval  of  the  commiscion,  one 
of  the  clerks  appointed  by  the  commission  to  exercise  the  powers  and  duties 
of  the  secretary  during  his  absence ; 

4.  Under  the  direction  of  the  commission,  have  general  charge  of  its  office, 
superintend  its  clerical  business,  and  perform  such  other  duties  as  the  com- 
mission may  prescril)e. 

§  67.  Rules. —  The  commission  shall  adopt  reasonable  rules,  not  inconsistent 
with  this  chapter,  regulating  and  providing  for 

1.  The  kind  and  character  of  notices,  and  the  service  thereof,  in  case  of 
accident  and  injury  to  employees; 

2.  The  nature  and  extent  of  the  proofs  and  evidence,  and  the  method  of 
taking  and  furnishing  the  same,  to  establish  the  right  to  compensation ; 

3.  The  forms  of  application  for  those  claiming  to  be  entitled  to  com- 
pensation ; 

4.  The  method  of  making  investigations,  physical  examinations  and  in- 
spections; 

5.  The  time  within  which  adjudications  and  awards  shall  be  made; 

6.  The  conduct  of  hearings,  investigations  and  inquiries; 

7.  The  giving  of  undertakings  by  all  subordinates  who  are  empowered  to 
receive  and  disburse  moneys,  to  be  approved  by  the  attorney-general  as  to 
form  and  by  the  comptroller  as  to  sufficiency. 

8.  Carrying  into  effect  the  provisions  of  this  chapter; 

9.  The  collection,  maintenance  and  disbursement  of  the  state  insurance 
fund. 

§  68.  Technical  rules  of  evidence  or  procedure  not  required. —  The  commis- 
sion or  a  commissioner  or  deputy  commissioner  in  making  an  investiga- 
tion or  inquiry  or  conducting  a  hearing  shall  not  be  bound  by  common  law 
or  statutory  rules  of  evidence  or  by  technical  or  formal  rules  of  procedure, 
except  as  provided  by  this  chapter;  but  may  make  such  investigation  or 
inquiry  or  conduct  such  hearing  in  such  manner  as  to  ascertain  the  substan- 
tial rights  of  the  parties. 

§  69.  Issue  of  subpoena;  penalty  for  failure  to  obey. —  A  subpoena  shall  be 
signed  and  issued  by  a  commissioner,  a  deputy  commissioner  or  by  the  secre- 
tary of  the  commission  and  may  be  served  by  any  person  of  full  age  in  the 
same  manner  as  a  subpoena  issued  out  of  a  court  of  record.  If  a  person  fail, 
without  reasonable  cause,  to  attend  in  obedience  to  a  siibpoena.  or  to  be 
sworn  or  examined  or  answer  a  question  or  produce  a  book  or  paper,  or  to 
subscribe  and  swear  to  his  deposition  after  it  has  been,  correctly  reduced  to 
writing,  he  shall  be  guilty   of  a  misdemeanor. 


256  *      Eepoet  of  the  Commissioa'ek  of  Labok,  1913. 

§  70.  Recalcitrant  witnesses  punishable  as  for  contempt. —  If  a  person  in 
attendance  before  the  coiumisbion  or  a  commissioner  or  tleputy  commissioner 
refuses,  witliout  reasonable  cause,  to  be  examined,  or  to  answer  a  legal  and 
pertinent  question  or  to  produce  a  book  or  paper,  when  ordered  so  to  do  by 
the  commission  or  a  commissioner  or  deputy  commissioner,  the  commission 
may  apply  to  a  justice  of  the  supreme  court  upon  proof  by  affidavit  of  tlie 
facts  for  an  order  returnable  in  not  less  than  two  nor  more  tlian  five  days 
directing  such  person  to  show  cause  before  the  justice  who  made  the  order, 
or  any  other  justice  of  tlie  supreme  court,  why  lie  should  not  be  committed 
to  jail.  Upon  the  return  of  such  order  the  justice  shall  examine  under  oath 
such  person  and  give  him  an  opportunity  to  be  heard;  and  if  the  justice 
determine  that  he  has  refused  without  reasonable  cause  or  legal  excuse  to 
be  examined  or  to  answer  a  legal  and  pertinent  question,  or  to  produce  a 
book  or  paper  which  he  was  ordered  to  bring,  he  may  fortliwith,  by  warrant, 
commit  the  offender  to  jail,  there  to  remain  until  he  submits  to  do  the  act 
which  he  was  so  required  to  do  or  is  discharged  according  to  law. 

§  71.  Fees  and  mileage  of  witnesses. —  Each  witness  who  appears  in  obedi- 
ence to  a  subpoena  before  the  commission  or  a  commissioner  or  deputy  com- 
missioner, or  person  employed  by  the  commission  to  obtain  the  required 
information,  shall  receive  for  his  attendance  the  fees  and  mileage  provided  for 
witnesses  in  civil  cases  in  the  supreme  court,  which  shall  be  audited  and 
paid  from  the  state  treasury  in  the  same  manner  as  other  expenses  of  the 
commission.  A  witness  subpoenaed  at  the  instance  of  a  party  other  than  the 
commission,  a  commissioner,  deputy  commissioner  or  person  acting  under 
the  authority  of  the  commission  shall  be  entitled  to  fees  or  compensation  from 
the  state  treasury,  if  the  commission  certify  that  his  testimony  was  material 
to  the  matter  investigated,  but  not  otherwise. 

§  72.  Depositions. —  The  commission  may  cause  depositions  of  witnesses 
residing  within  or  without  the  state  to  be  taken  in  the  manner  prescribed 
by  law  for  like  depositions  in  civil  actions  in  the  supreme  court. 

§  73.  Transcript  of  stenographer's  minutes;  effect  as  evidence. —  A  tran- 
scribed copy  of  the  testimony,  evidence  and  procedure  or  of  a  specific  part 
thereof,  or  of  the  testimony  of  a  particular  witness  or  of  a  specific  part 
thereof,  on  any  investigation,  by  a  stenographer  appointed  by  the  commission, 
being  certified  by  such  stenographer  to  be  a  true  and  correct  transcript 
thereof  and  to  have  been  carefully  compared  by  him  with  his  original  notes, 
may  be  received  in  evidence  by  the  commission  with  the  same  effect  as  if 
such  stenographer  were  present  and  testified  to  the  facts  so  certified,  and  a 
copy  of  such  transcript  shall  be  furnished  on  demand  to  any  party  upon 
payment  of  the  fee  provided  for  a  transcript  of  similar  minutes  in  the 
supreme  court. 

§  74.  Jurisdiction  of  commission  to  be  continuing. —  The  power  and  juris* 
diction  of  the  commission  over  each  case  shall  be  continuing,  and  it  may, 
from  time  to  time,  make  such  modification  or  change  with  respect  to  former 
findings  or  orders  relating  thereto,  as  in  its  opinion  may  be  just. 

§  75.  Report  of  commission. —  Annually  on  or  before  the  first  day  of  Febru- 
ary, the  commission  shall  make  a  report  to  the  legislature,  which  sliall  include 
a  statement  of  the  number  of  awards  made  by  it  and  the  causes  of  the  acci- 
dents leading  to  the  injuries  for  which  the  awards  were  made,  a  detailed 
statement   of   the    expenses    of   the   commission,    the    condition    of    the   state 


WoKKMEx's  Compensation  Law.  *  257 

insurance  fund,  together  with  any  other  matter  which  the  commission  deems 
proper  to  report  to  the  legislature,  including  any  recommendations  it  may 
desire  to  make. 

§  76.  Commission  to  furnish  blank  forms. —  The  commission  shall  prepare 
and  cause  to  be  distributed  so  that  the  same  may  be  readily  available  blank 
forms  of  application  for  compensation,  notice  to  employers,  proofs  of  injury 
or  death,  of  medical  or  other  attendance  or  treatment,  of  employment  and 
wage  earnings,  and  for  such  other  purposes  as  may  be  required.  Insured 
employers  shall  constantly  keep  on  hand  a  sufficient  supply  of  such  blanks. 

ARTICLE    5. 

State   Insurance   Fund. 

Section    90.  Creation  of  state  fund. 

91.  State  treasurer  custodian  of  fund. 

92.  Surplus  and   reserve. 

93.  Investment  of  surplus  or  reserve. 

94.  Administration  expense. 

95.  Classification   of  rislvs   and  adjustment  of  premiums. 

96.  Associations  for  accident  prevention. 

97.  Requirements    in    classifying    employment    and    fixing    and    adjusting 

premium  rates. 

98.  Time  of  payment  of  premiums. 

99.  Action  for  collection  in  case  of  default. 

100.  Withdrawal  from  fund. 

101.  Audit  of  payrolls. 

102.  Falsification  of  payroll. 

103.  Wilful   misrepresentation. 

104.  Inspections. 

105.  Disclosures  prohibited. 

§  90.  Creation  of  state  fund. —  There  is  hereby  created  a  fund  to  be  known 
as  "  The  State  Insurance  Fund,"  for  the  purpose  of  insuring  employers  against 
liability  under  this  chapter  and  of  assuring  to  the  persons  entitled  thereto  the 
compensation  provided  by  this  chapter.  Such  fund  shall  consist  of  all  pre- 
miums received  and  paid  into  the  fund,  of  property  and  securities  acquired 
by  and  through  the  use  of  moneys  belonging  to  the  fund  and  of  interest  earned 
upon  moneys  belonging  to  the  fund  and  deposited  or  invested  as  herein  pro- 
vided. Such  fund  shall  be  administered  by  the  commission  without  liability 
on  the  part  of  the  state  beyond  the  amount  of  such  fund.  Such  fund  shall  be 
applicable  to  the  payment  of  losses  sustained  on  account  of  insurance  and 
to  the  payment  of  expenses  in  the  manner  provided  in  tliis  chapter. 

§  91.  State  treasurer  custodian  of  fund. —  The  state  treasurer  shall  be  the 
custodian  of  the  state  insurance  fund ;  and  all  disbursements  therefrom 
shall  be  paid  by  him  upon  vouchers  authorized  by  the  commission  and  signed 
by  any  two  members  thereof.  The  state  treasurer  shall  give  a  separate  and 
additional  bond  in  an  amount  to  be  fixed  by  the  go\»ernor  and  with  sureties 
approved  by  the  state  comptroller  conditioned  for  the  faithful  performance  of 
his  duty  as  custodian  of  the  state  fund.  The  state  treasurer  may  deposit 
any  portion  of  the  state  fund  not  needed  for  immediate  use,  in  the  manner 
and  subject  to  all  the  provisions  of  law  respecting  the  deposit  of  other  state 
funds  by  him.  Interest  earned  by  such  portion  of  tlie  state  insurance  fund 
deposited  by  the  state  treasuuer  shall  be  collected  by  him  and  placed  to  the 
credit  of  the   fund. 


258  *     Report  of  the  Commissioxer  of  Labor,  1913. 

§  92.  Surplus  and  reserve. —  Ten  per  centum  of  the  premiums  collected  from 
employers  insured  in  tlie  fund  shall  be  set  aside  by  tlie  commission  for  the 
creation  of  a  surplus  until  such  surplus  shall  amount  to  tlie  sum  of  one 
hundred  thousand  dollars,  and  tliereafter  five  per  centum  of  such  premiums, 
until  such  time  as  in  tlie  judgment  of  the  commission  such  surplus  shall  be 
sufficiently  large  to  cover  tlie  catastroplie  iiazard.  The  commission  sliall  also 
set  up  and  maintain  a  reserve  adequate  to  meet  anticipated  losses  and  carry 
all  claims  and  policies  to  maturity. 

§  93.  Investment  of  surplus  or  reserve. —  The  commission  may,  pursuant  to 
a  resolution  of  the  commission  approved  by  the  comptroller,  invest  any  of 
the  surplus  or  reserve  funds  belonging  to  the  state  insurance  fund  in  the 
same  securities  and  investments  authorized  for  investment  bv  savings  banks. 
All  such  securities  or  evidences  of  indebtedness  shall  be  placed  in  the  hands 
of  the  state  treasurer  who  shall  be  the  custodian  thereof.  He  shall  collect 
the  principal  and  interest  thereof,  when  due,  and  pay  the  same  into  the  state 
insurance  fund.  The  state  treasurer  shall  pay  all  vouchers  drawn  on  the 
state  insurance  fund  for  the  making  of  such  investments  when  signed  by 
two  members  of  the  commission,  upon  delivery  of  such  securities  or  evidences 
of  indebtedness  to  him,  when  there  is  attached  to  such  vouchers  a  certified 
copy  of  the  resolution  of  the  commission  authorizing  the  investment.  The 
commission  may,  upon  like  resolution  approved  by  the  comptroller,  sell  any 
of  such  securities. 

§  94.  Administration  expense. —  The  entire  expense  of  administering  the 
state  insurance  fund  sliall  be  paid  in  the  first  instance  by  the  state,  out  of 
moneys  appropriated  therefor.  In  the  month  of  January,  nineteen  hundred 
and  eighteen,  and  annually  thereafter  in  such  month,  the  commission  shall 
ascertain  the  just  amount  incurred  by  the  commission  during  the  preceding 
calendar  year,  in  the  administration  of  the  state  insurance  fund  exclusive 
of  the  expense  for  the  examination,  determination  and  payment  of  claims, 
and  shall  refund  such  amount  to  the  state  treasury.  If  there  be  employees 
of  the  commission  other  than  the  commissioners  themselves  and  the  secretary 
whose  time  is  devoted  partly  to  the  general  work  of  the  commission  and  partly 
to  the  work  of  the  state  insurance  fund,  and  in  case  there  is  other  expense 
which  is  incurred  jointly  on  behalf  of  the  general  work  of  the  commission 
and  the  state  insurance  fund,  an  equitable  apportionment  of  the  expense  shall 
be  made  for  such  purpose  and  the  part  thereof  which  is  applicable  to  the 
state  insurance  fund  shall  be  chargeable  thereto.  As  soon  as  practicable 
after  December  thirty-one,  nineteen  hundred  and  seventeen,  and  annually 
thereafter,  the  commission  shall  calculate  the  total  administrative  expense 
incurred  during  the  preceding  calendar  year  in  connection  with  the  examina- 
tion, determination  and  payment  of  claims  and  the  percentage  which  this 
expense  bore  to  the  total  compensation  payments  made  during  that  year. 
Tlie  percentage  so  calculated  and  determined  shall  be  assessed  against  the 
insurance  carriers  including  the  state  fund  as  an  addition  to  the  payments 
required  from  them  in  the  settlement  of  claims  during  the  year  immediately 
following,  and  the  amounts  so  secured  shall  be  transferred  to  the  state 
treasury  to  reimburse  it  for  this  portion  of  the  expense  of  administering  this 
chapter. 


Wokkme:^'s  Compensation  Law.  *  259 

§  95.  Classification  of  risks  and  adjustment  of  premiums. —  Employments 
coming  under  tiie  provisions  of  this  chapter  shall  be  divided  for  the  purposes 
of  the  state  fund,  into  the  groups  set  forth  in  section  two  of  this  chapter. 
Separate  accounts  shall  be  kept  of  tlie  amounts  collected  and  expended  in 
respect  to  each  such  group  for  convenience  in  determining  equitable  rates; 
but  for  the  purpose  of  paying  compensation  the  state  fund  shall  be  deemed 
one  and  indivisible.  The  commission  shall  have  power  to  rearrange  any  of 
the  groups  set  forth  in  section  two  by  withdrawing  any  employment  embraced 
in  it  and  transferring  it  wholly  or  in  part  to  any  other  group,  and  from  such 
employments  to  set  up  new  groups  at  its  discretion.  The  commission  shall 
determine  the  hazards  of  the  different  classes  composing  each  group  and  fix 
the  rates  of  premiums  therefor  based  upon  the  total  payroll  and  number  of 
employees  in  each  of  such  classes  of  employment  at  the  lowest  possible  rate 
consistent  with  the  maintenance  of  a  solvent  state  insurance  fund  and  the 
creation  of  a  reasonable  surplus  and  reserve;  and  for  such  purpose  may  adopt 
a  system  of  schedule  rating  in  such  a  manner  as  to  take  account  of  the 
peculiar  hazard  of  each  individual  risk. 

§  96.  Associations  for  accident  prevention. —  The  employers  in  any  of  the 
groups  described  in  section  two  or  established  by  the  commission  may  with 
the  approval  of  the  commission  form  themselves  into  an  association  for 
accident  prevention,  and  may  make  rules  for  that  purpose.  If  the  commission 
is  of  the  opinion  that  an  association  so  formed  sufDciently  represents  the 
employers  in  such  group,  it  may  approve  such  rules,  and  when  so  approved 
and  approved  by  the  industrial  board  of  the  labor  department  they  shall  be 
binding  on  all  employers  in  such  group.  If  such  an  approved  association 
appoint  an  inspector  or  expert  for  the  purpose  of  accident  prevention,  the 
commission  may  at  its  discretion  provide  in  whole  or  in  part  for  the  payment 
of  the  remuneration  and  expenses  of  such  inspector  or  expert,  such  payment 
to  be  charged  in  the  accounting  to  such  group.  Every  such  approved  associa- 
tion may  make  recommendations  to  the  commission  concerning  the  fixing  of 
premiums  for  classes  of  hazards,  and  for  individual  risks  within  such  group. 

§  97,  Requirements  in  classifying  employment  and  fixing  and  adjusting  pre- 
mium rates. — 'The  following  requirements  shall  be  observed  in  classifying 
employments  and  fixing  and  adjusting  premium  rates: 

1.  The  commission  shall  keep  an  accurate  account  of  the  money  paid  in 
premiums  by  each  of  the  several  classes  of  employments  or  industries,  and  the 
disbursements  on  account  of  injuries  and  deaths  of  employees  thereof,  includ- 
ing the  setting  up  of  reserves  adequate  to  meet  anticipated  losses  and  to  carry 
the  claims  to  maturity,  and  also,  on  account  of  the  money  received  from  each 
individual  employer  and  the  amount  disbursed  from  the  state  insurance  fund 
on  account  of  injuries  and  death  of  the  employees  of  such  employer,  including 
the  reserves  so  set  up; 

2.  On  January  first,  nineteen  hundred  and  fifteen,  and  every  fifth  year  there- 
after, and  at  sixch  other  times  as  the  commission,  in  its  discretion,  may 
determine,  a  readjustment  of  the  rate  shall  be  made  for  each  of  the  several 
groups  of  employment  or  industries  and  of  each  hazard  class  therein,  which, 
in  the  judgment  of  the  commission,  shall  have  developed  an  average  loss 
ratio,  in  accordance  with  the  experience  of  the  commission  in  the  administra- 
tion of  the  law  as  shown  by  the  accounts  kept  as  provided  herein; 


260  *     Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Labor,  1913. 

3.  If  any  such  accounting  show  an  aggregate  balance  (deemed  by  the  com- 
mission to  be  safely  and  properly  *devisible)  remaining  to  the  credit  of  any 
class  of  employment  or  industry,  after  the  amount  required  shall  have  been 
credited  to  the  surplus  and  reserve  funds  and  after  the  payment  of  all  awarda 
for  injury  or  death  lawfully  chargeable  against  tlie  same,  the  comm-ission 
may  in  its  discretion  credit  to  each  individual  member  of  such  group,  who 
shall  have  been  a  subscriber  to  the  state  insurance  fund  for  a  period  of  six 
months  or  more  prior  to  the  time  of  such  readjustment,  and  whose  premium 
or  premiums  exceed  the  amount  of  the  disbursements  from  the  fund  on  account 
of  injuries  or  death  of  his  employees  during  such  period,  on  the  instalment 
or  instalments  of  premiums  next  due  from  him  such  proportion  of  such 
balance  as  the  amount  of  his  prior  paid  premiums  sustains  to  the  whole 
amount  of  such  premiums  paid  by  the  group  to  which  he  belongs  since  the 
last  readjustment  of  rates; 

4.  If  the  amount  of  premiums  collected  from  any  employer  at  the  beginning 
of  any  period  of  six  months  is  ascertained  and  calculated  by  using  the 
estimated  expenditure  of  wages  for  the  period  of  time  covered  by  such 
premium  payment  as  a  basis,  an  adjustment  of  the  amount  of  such  premium 
shall  be  made  at  the  end  of  such  six  months,  and  the  actual  amount  of  such 
premium  shall  be  determined  in  accordance  with  the  amount  of  the  actual 
expenditure  of  wages  for  such  period;  and,  if  such  wage  expenditure  for  such 
period  is  less  than  the  amount  on  which  such  estimated  premium  was  collected, 
such  employer  shall  be  entitled  to  receive  a  refund  from  the  state  insurance 
fund  of  the  difference  between  the  amount  so  paid  by  him  and  the  amount  so 
found  to  be  actually  due,  or  to  have  the  amount  of  such  difference  credited 
on  succeeding  premium  payments,  at  his  option;  and  if  such  actual  premium, 
when  so  ascertained,  exceeds  in  amount  a  premium  so  paid  by  such  employer 
at  the  beginning  of  such  six  months,  such  employer  shall  immediately  upon 
being  advised  of  the  true  amount  of  such  premium  due,  fortliwith  pay  to  the 
treasurer  of  the  state  an  amoimt  equal  to  the  difference  between  the  amount 
actually  found  to  be  due  and  the  amount  paid  by  him  at  the  beginning  of 
such  six  months'  period. 

§  98,  Time  of  payment  of  premiums. —  Except  as  otherwise  provided  in  this 
chapter,  all  premiums  shall  be  paid  by  every  employer  into  the  state  insurance 
fund  on  or  before  July  first,  nineteen  hundred  and  fourteen,  and  semi-annually 
thereafter,  or  at  such  other  time  or  times  as  may  be  prescribed  by  the  com- 
mission. The  commission  shall  mail  a  receipt  for  the  same  to  the  employer 
and  place  the  same  to  the  credit  of  the  state  insurance  fund  in  the  custody 
of  the  state  treasurer. 

§  99.  Action  for  collection  in  case  of  default. —  If  an  employer  shall  default 
in  any  payment  required  to  be  made  by  him  to  the  state  insurance  fund,  the 
amount  due  from  him  shall  be  collected  by  civil  action  against  him  in  the 
name  of  the  people  of  the  state  of  New  York,  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the 
com-mission  on  the  first  Monday  of  each  month  after  July  first,  nineteen 
hundred  and  fourteen,  to  certify  to  the  attorney-general  of  the  state  the 
names  and  residences,  or  places  of  businei?s,  of  all  employers  known  to  the 
commission  to  be  in  default  for  such  payment  or  payments  for  a  longer 
period  than  five  days  and  the  amount  due  from  such  employer,  and  it  shall 
then  be  the  duty  of  the  attorney-general  forthwith  to  bring  or  cause  to  be 
brought  against  each  such  employer  a  civil  action  in  the  proper  court  for  the 

♦  So  in  the  original. 


Workmen's  Compensation  Law.  *  261 

collection  of  such  amount  so  due,  and  the  same  when  collected,  shall  be  paid 
into  the  state  insurance  fund,  and  such  employer's  compliance  with  the  pro- 
visions of  this  chapter  requiring  payments  to  be  made  to  the  state  insurance 
fund  shall  date  from  the  time  of  the  payment  of  said  money  so  collected  as 
aforesaid  to  the  state  treasurer  for  credit  to  the  state  insurance  fund. 

§  100.  Withdrawal  from  fund. —  Any  employer  may,  upon  complying  with 
subdivision  two  or  three  of  section  fifty  of  this  chapter,  withdraw  from  the 
fiind  by  turning  in  his  insurance  contract  for  cancellation,  provided  he  is  not 
in  arrears  for  premiums  due  the  fund  and  has  given  to  the  commission  written 
notice  of  his  intention  to  withdraw  within  thirty  days  before  the  expiration 
of  the  period  for  which  he  has  elected  to  insure  in  the  fund;  provided  that  in 
case  any  employer  so  withdraws,  his  liability  to  assessments  shall",  notwith- 
standing such  withdrawal,  continue  for  one  year  after  the  date  of  such  with- 
drawal as  against  all  liabilities  for  such  compensation  accruing  prior  to 
such  withdrawal. 

§  101.  Audit  of  payrolls. —  Every  employer  who  is  insured  in  the  state 
insurance  fvmd  shall  keep  a  true  and  accurate  record  of  the  number  of  his 
employees  and  the  wages  paid  by  him,  and  shall  furnish  to  the  commission, 
upon  demand,  a  sworn  statement  of  the  same.  Such  record  shall  be  open  to 
inspection  at  any  time  and  as  often  as  the  commission  shall  require  to  verify 
the  number  of  employees  and  the  amount  of  the  payroll. 

§  102.  Falsification  of  payroll. —  An  employer  who  shall  wilfully  misrepre- 
sent the  amount  of  the  payroll  upon  which  the  premiums  chargeable  by  the 
state  insurance  fund  is  to  be  based  shall  be  liable  to  the  state  in  ten  times 
the  amount  of  the  difference  between  the  premiums  paid  and  the  amount  the 
employer  should  have  paid  had  his  payroll  been  correctly  computed;  and  the 
liability  to  the  state  under  this  section  shall  be  enforced  in  a  civil  action 
in  the  name  of  the  state  insurance  fund,  and  any  amount  so  collected  shall 
become  a  part  of  such  fund. 

§  103.  Wilful  misrepresentation. —  Any  person  who  wilfully  misrepresents 
any  fact  in  order  to  obtain  insurance  in  the  state  insurance  fund  at  less  than 
the  proper  rate  for  such  insurance,  or  in  order  to  obtain  payment  out  of 
such  fund,   shall   be  guilty   of   a  misdemeanor. 

§  104.  Inspections. —  The  commission  shall  have  the  right  to  inspect  the 
plants  and  establishments  of  employers  insured  in  the  state  insurance  fund; 
and  the  inspectors  designated  by  the  commission  shall  have  free  access  to 
such  premises  during  regular  working  hours. 

§  105.  Disclosures  prohibited. —  Information  acquired  by  the  commission  or 
its  officers  or  employees  from  employers  or  employees  pursuant  to  this 
chapter  shall  not  be  opened  to  public  inspection,  and  any  officer  or  employee 
of  the  commission  who,  without  authority  of  the  commission  or  pursuant  to 
its  rules  or  as  otherwise  required  by  law  shall  disclose  the  same  shall  be 
guilty  of  a  misdemeanor. 

ARTICLE   6. 

Mlscellaneons  Provisions. 

Section  110.  Penalties  applicable  to  expense  of  commission. 

111.  Record  and  report  of  injuries  by  emploj-ers. 

112.  Information  to  bo  furnished  by  employer. 

113.  Inspection  of  records  of  en>iiloyers. 


262  *     Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Labor,  1913. 

Section  114.  Interstate  commerce. 

11,").  I'onaltic's  for  false  representations. 

110.  Limitation  of  tinu'. 

117.  I'uties  of  commissioner  of  labor. 

lis.  Unconstitutional  provisions. 

119.  Actions  or  causes  of  action  pending. 

§  110.  Penalties  applicable  to  expenses  of  commission. —  All  penalties  im- 
posed In^  this  cliapter  shall  bo  applicable  to  the  expenses  of  the  commission. 
Wlien  collected  by  the  commission  such  penalties  shall  be  paid  into  the  state 
treasury  and  be  thereafter  appropriated  by  the  legislature  for  the  purposes 
prescribed  by  this  section. 

§  111.  Record  and  report  of  injuries  by  employers. —  Every  employer  shall 
keep  a  record  of  all  injuries,  fatal  or  otherwise,  received  by  his  employees 
in  the  course  of  their  employment.  Within  ten  days  after  the  occurrence  of 
an  accident  resulting  in  personal  injury  a  report  thereof  shall  be  made  in 
writing  by  the  emijloyer  to  tlie  commission  upon  blanks  to  be  procured  from 
the  commission  for  that  purpose.  Such  report  shall  state  the  name  and 
nature  of  the  business  of  the  employer,  the  location  of  his  establishment  or 
place  of  work,  the  name,  address  and  occupation  of  the  injured  employee,  the 
time,  nature  and  cause  of  the  injury  and  such  other  information  as  may  be 
required  by  the  commission.  An  employer  who  refuses  or  neglects  to  make  a 
report  as  required  by  this  section  shall  be  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  punish- 
able by  a  fine  of  not  more  than  five  hundred  dollars. 

§  112.  Information  to  be  furnished  by  employer. —  Every  employer  shall 
furnish  the  commission,  upon  request,  any  information  required  by  it  to 
carry  out  the  provisions  of  this  chapter.  The  commission,  a  commissioner, 
deputy  commissioner,  or  any  person  deputized  by  tlie  commission  for  that 
purpose,  may  examine  under  oath  any  employer,  oflTicer,  agent  or  employee. 
An  employer  or  an  employee  receiving  from  the  commission  a  blank  with 
directions  to  file  the  same  shall  cause  the  same  to  be  properly  filled  out  so 
as  to  answer  fully  and  correctly  all  questions  therein,  or  if  vmable  to  do  so, 
shall  give  good  and  sufficient  reasons  for  such  failure.  Answers  to  such 
questions  shall  be  verified  under  oath  and  returned  to  the  commission  within 
the  period  fixed  by  the  commission  therefor. 

§  113.  Inspection  of  records  of  employers. —  All  books,  records  and  payrolls 
of  the  employers  showing  or  reflecting  in  any  way  upon  the  amount  of  wage 
expenditures  of  such  employers  shall  always  be  open  for  inspection  by  the 
commission  or  any  of  its  authorized  auditors,  accountants  or  inspectors  for 
the  purpose  of  ascertaining  the  correctness  of  the  wage  expenditure  and 
number  of  men  employed  and  such  other  information  as  may  be  necessary 
for  the  uses  and  purposes  of  the  commission  in  the  administration  of  this 
chapter. 

§  114.  Interstate  commerce. —  The  provisions  of  this  chapter  shall  apply  to 
employers  and  employees  engaged  in  intrastate,  and  also  in  interstate  or 
foreign  commerce,  for  whom  a  rule  of  liability  or  method  of  compensation 
iias  been  or  may  be  established  by  the  congress  of  the  United  States,  only  to 
the  extent  that  their  mutual  connection  with  intrastate  work  may  and  shall 
be  clearly  separable  and  distinguishable  from  interstate  or  foreign  commerce, 
except  that  such  employer  and  his  employees  working  only  in  this  state 
may,  subject  to  the  approval  and  in  the  manner  provided  by  the  commission 


•  •  • '   1   •  • 


WoKKMEN's    COMPEXSAVION   'Law.    '         ' '      **2G3 

and  so  far  as  not  forbidden  by  any  act  of  congress,  accept  and  become  bound 
by  the  provisions  of  this  chapter  in  like  manner  and  with  the  same  effect 
in  all  respects  as  provided  herein  for  other  employers  and  their  employees. 

§  115.  Penalties  for  false  representation. —  If  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining 
any  benefit  or  payment  under  the  provisions  of  this  chapter,  either  for  liim- 
self  or  any  other  person,  any  person  wilfully  makes  a  false  statement  or 
representation,  he  shall  be  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor. 

§  IIG.  Limitation  of  time. —  No  limitation  of  time  provided  in  this  chapter 
shall  run  as  against  any  person  who  is  mentally  incompetent  or  a  minor 
dependent  so  long  as  he  has  no  committee,  guardian  or  next  friend. 

§  117.  Duties  of  commissioner  of  labor. —  The  commissioner  of  labor  shall 
render  to  the  commission  any  proper  aid  and  assistance  by  the  department  of 
labor  as  in  his  judgment  does  not  interfere  with  the  proper  conduct  of  such 
department. 

§  lis.  Unconstitutional  provisions. —  If  any  section  or  provision  of  this 
chapter  be  decided  by  the  courts  to  be  unconstitutional  or  invalid,  the  same 
shall  not  affect  the  validity  of  the  chapter  as  a  whole  or  any  part  thereof 
other  than  the  part  so  decided  to  be  unconstitutional  or  invalid. 

§  119.  Actions  or  causes  of  action  pending. —  This  act  shall  not  affect  any 
action  pending  or  cause  of  action  existing  or  which  accrued  prior  to  July 
first,   nineteen   hundred   and   fourteen. 

ARTICLE    7. 

Laws  Repealed;   AVIien   to   Take  E^ffect. 

Section  130.  Laws  repealed. 

131.   When  to  take  effect. 

§  130.  Laws  repealed. —  Article  fourteen-a  and  sections  two  hundred  and 
fifteen  to.  two  hundred  and  nineteen-g,  both  inclusive,  of  chapter  thirty-six 
of  the  laws  of  nineteen  hundred  and  nine,  as  amended  by  chapter  six  hundred 
and  seventy-four  of  the  laws  of  nineteen  hundred  and  ten,  are  hereby  repealed. 

§  131.  When  to  take  effect. —  This  chapter  shall  take  effect  January  first, 
nineteen  hundred  and  fourteen,  provided  that  the  application  of  this  chapter 
as  between  employers  and  employees  and  the  payment  of  compensation  for 
injuries  to  employees  or  their  dependents,  in  case  of  death,  shall  take  effect 
July  first,  nineteen  hundred  and  fourteen,  but  payments  into  the  state 
insurance  fimd  may  be  made  prior  to  July  first,  nineteen  hundred  and 
fourteen. 

Approved  December  16,  1913. 


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